Metatarsophalangeal protector.



N0. 847,311. PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907.

J. BRONNENKANT. v

METATARSOPHALANGEAL PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14. 1905.

'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BRONNENKANT, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN ASSIGNOR TO FISCHER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORA- TION OF WISCONSIN.

IVIETATARSOPHALANGEAL PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

E'atented March 19, 1907.

Application filed February 14, 1905. Serial No, 245,636.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BRONNEN- KANT, residing in Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invent ed new and useful Improvements in Metatarsophalangeal Protectors, of which the fol lowing is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. which are a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction in protectors of the general character of the one for which Letters Patent of the United States No. 7 39 ,824 were issued to me on September 29, 1903.

The protector is adapted to be applied to the foot of a person having a bunion or swollen and enlarged joint of the great toe at its junction with. the foot to protect the bunion or swollen and tender part of the foot from being pressed against, rubbed, or abrad ing by the inclosing boot.

The old device was found to be lacking in that along the upper part longitudinally it did not fit and properly conform to the shape of the toe and foot, resulting in an undesired fullness of the protector along the line such as when the user was walking to cause the protector to bend or buckle transversely above the opening in the protector, thereby forming a rib, that soon produced discomfort of or a sore on the foot.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction adapted to obviate the foregoing and other imperfec tions in the old protector.

The invention consists of the protector and its parts as herein described and claimed or the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a boot of a form now commonly worn with my improved protector indicated in dotted lines therein, showing the position of the protector when in use. Fig. 2 is a view of the im proved protector looked at from the outside and in substantially horizontal plane with the medial longitudinal line thereof. Fig. 3 shows the protector in outline when looked at downwardly from a point substantially vertically above the top part of the protector. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are transverse sections, respectively, on lines 4 4, 5 5, and 6 6 of Fig.2 and Fig. 7 is a detail in section,

showing the overlapping of the top part of the protector.

The body or principal portion of my im proved protector is made of some firm but slightly yielding material, advisably of leather, of sufficient thickness and firmness to be adapted to hold its shape when once molded thereto, the margins of the body portion of the protector being skived off on the inside, so as to make the margins thinner, diminishing to a comparatively sharp line along the outer edge thereof.

In the drawings, 2 represents the body or principal part of the protector, which is advisably made integrally of leather and is constructed by being cut in blank form from a piece of leather, which is then molded so as to cause it to assume the shape desired. The body of the protector is provided with an opening 3, so located as to be adapted to per mit the bunion or swollen part of a toe to enter this opening when the protector is on the foot around and adjacent to such swollen or enlarged part. The part l of the body of the protector, that is in front of the opening 3, may for convenience be called the toe member, and the part 5, that is at the rear of the opening 3, may for similar convenience be called the instep member. Also for further designating the parts of the protector the lower long and wide portion 6 of the body of the protector may be called the bottom part, the upper less long and narrow portion. 7, that is at the top of the protector, maybe called the top part, and the elongated and curved middle portion 8 between the bottom and the top parts may be called the side part.

The bottom part 6 of the protector is made of considerable width from the opening 3 to its inner edge 9, and this bottom part of the protector being of considerable length as well as of width in use passes under the toe and front part of the instep of the foot, par tially across the foot, practically from the inner edge of the foot to about the middle longitudinal line thereof, and resting on the bottom or sole of the boot is held in place by the pressure of the foot on such considerable portion of the protector.

To draw and hold the side part 8 into the curved form longitudinally that is shown by the bottom line in Fig. 3 of the drawings from the front end to the rear end, the leather of the body part is in making cut across transversely opposite the middle of the opening 3 along the line 10, and the two ends oi? the top part thus formed are pulled together and made to overlap at 1], and the ends of this part thus pulled. toward each other and made to overlap are secured in position advisably by two lines o'l stitching .12 12 through these thus overlapped ends of the parts. The pulling together of these two ends and securing them. to each other causes the body part to assume a curved form along the middle or axial line of the side part, (shown substan l tially in Fig. 2,) and at the same time the pulling together of these ends of the upper part draws down that portion of the top part that is above the opening 3, so that the upper 1 part is considerably depressed above the opening 3 and about along the section-line 5 5 on Fig. 2. This method o'l construction and term. obtained thereby in the top part of the protector causes it when in use to fit closely to the feet at and above the l'iig-toc 5 joint with the foot, thereby preventing any j transverse downward buckling or ridge-like formation of the protector at this point when the user is walking, and the toe by the yielding ol the Front part of the sole of the boot swings or is bent upwardly.

It will be seen that by constructing the pro teeter in the manner described a means is provided consisting of the wide and long bottom part of the body of the protector for holding the protector securely and against displacement on the foot within the boot and .that by cutting apart the strip ol the top j part above the opening and pulling the ends 1 together and securing them to each other in l overlapped condition the top part of the pro 1 tectoris drawn in centrally transversely above 1 the opening, thereby causing the top part to curve downwardly medially, so as to more perfectly'fit the foot, and at the same time by this drawing together of the top part of the body the side part oi. the body along the middle longitudinal line thereof is drawn inwardly at the ends, forming the curve shown at the bottom in Fig. 3, whereby the protector is along this curved line as well as along the parts adjacent thereto and controlled there- 3 by brought to a form that causes it to fit more perfectly to the foot than it otherwise 1 would do.

Besides the protection atlorded to the i swollen or enlarged part of the foot that pro jects into the opening 3 by the considerable 1 thickness of the leather or body part of the protector, at the front and at the rear especially oi the opening, I also provide fillings or cushions 13 and 14, respectively, in front j semen and at the rear of the opening I, on the inner surface of the body part extemling 'l'rom near the opening 3 for about two-thirds oi the distance l'roni the opening to the front end of the body part and from near the opcm ing a little n'iorc than hall' the distance to ward the rear oi the body part, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, and in and along the side part oi the body upwardly and downwardly substantially to the extent "'onn in Figs. 4- and (3, respectively. lhc:-:elilling or cushions are advisably made cl' compact l'ch secured in place on the leather by being ccmented or glued thereto. 'lbosc (HHiiiolLs may be oi such thic desired 1o adapt any particular protccicr to guarding a swollen part oi greater or less height against the hearing or rubbing ol' the boot thereon.

lVhat I claim as my invenion is 1. A metatarsoplnilangeal protccior. com sisting of an elongated body providcd mi dially with an opening to admii thcrcin the enlarged or swollen great-toe joint and cx Lending in lront of the opening to lit on and along the great too and at the rear of the opening on and along the instep oi' the uscr. the bottom part oi the bodybeing below the opening and adapted, when the devicc is ad justed to the foot, to extend beneath the bot tom of the foot, and the top part above i no opening being shortened longitudinally by cutting the part transverse above the opcip ing in two and drawing the ends together and overlapping and securing them to each other whereby the top part by the strain thereon is drawn together longitiulimilly and is depressed into concave form ovc r the opcm ing so as to fit the foot at the toe-joint.

2. A metatarsophalangeal protector, consisting of an elongated body provided Incdially with an opening to admit therein the enlarged great-toe joint and extending in front oi the opening to 'lit on. and along i'hc great toe and at the rear of the opening on and along the instep oi' the user, the bottom part of the body being below the opening and adapted, when the device is adju ted lo the foot, to extend beneath the bottom ol thc toot, and the top part above and inwardly ol' the opening being shortened longitudii'niltyv wherel'iy the top part is drawn together longitudinally and is depressed into conczivc form over the opening so as to iii the looi at the toe-joint.

lin testimony whereof I allix my signal urc in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH BRUNNENKAN'I.

W'itnesses (.1. T. BENEDICT, ANNA F. Sornunrrmnnn.

ICU 

